Counter-Terrorism Officer Killed in ISIS Clash Near Dibis, Kirkuk; Iraqi Jets Strike Hideouts

On July 4-5, 2026, a Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) first lieutenant, identified as Hassan Khudair Zughair, was killed in a clash with suspected ISIS militants near the Dibis district of Kirkuk province, close to the Altun Kupri area bordering Erbil. The CTS unit was inspecting sites hit in a prior round of airstrikes when the firefight broke out; one ISIS militant was also killed and two Iraqi army soldiers were wounded. In response, Iraqi F-16s carried out three airstrikes at approximately 10:45 a.m. local time (07:45 GMT) against suspected ISIS hideouts in the area, in an operation coordinated between the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, the Counter-Terrorism Service, and Kurdistan Region Peshmerga/Commando forces. ISIS retains a low-level insurgent presence in rural and desert pockets of Kirkuk, Diyala, Salah al-Din and Anbar provinces, exploiting security gaps around the Baghdad-KRG disputed territories to conduct hit-and-run attacks, ambushes, and IED strikes.